Kazakhstan revises primary grading and adds law, safety courses from Sept 1

September 2, 2026 at 11:18 AM2 min

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Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education has revised assessment for grades 2-4, effective September 1, 2026. Quarterly grades will be calculated automatically in the school LMS using a 50/50 formula of formative and interim assessment. The ministry also adds mandatory courses in law, order, and personal safety for grades 5-11.

Key Facts

From September 1, 2026, grades 2–4 in Kazakhstan will use updated assessment approaches, with no grades in grade 1.
Quarterly grades will be calculated automatically in the school LMS using a formula of 50% formative and 50% interim assessment.
The Ministry of Education introduces mandatory courses: 'Fundamentals of the Constitution' for grades 5–7, 'Law and Order' for grades 8–11, and 'Personal Safety' for grades 5–11.
The previously elective 'Fundamentals of Law' course becomes mandatory for all students and its content is aligned with the principles of the new Constitution.

Assessment Changes

The Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan has revised assessment approaches for primary grades, effective from September 1, 2026. In grade 1, no grades will be given, and interim assessment will be introduced to determine mastery of learning units. Formative assessment will continue on a 1–10 scale, and quarterly grades will be composed of 50% formative and 50% interim assessment results. The quarterly grade will be calculated automatically in the school's LMS using a unified formula, showing the share of interim and formative results to teachers, students, and parents.

New Mandatory Courses

Starting from the new academic year, the Ministry of Education adds several mandatory courses to the curriculum. For grades 5–7, the subject 'Fundamentals of the Constitution' is introduced; for grades 8–11, the mandatory course 'Law and Order' is added. Additionally, a mandatory course 'Personal Safety' is introduced for students in grades 5–11. The previously elective course 'Fundamentals of Law' becomes mandatory for all students, and its content is aligned with the principles of the new Constitution.